Advances in medical science have identified umbilical cord
blood as a viable and useful source of blood forming stem cells. Stem cells
are the fundamental building blocks of our blood and immune systems and are
normally confined to the bone marrow. Throughout life, stem cells multiply
and mature into red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.In certain disease conditions or as a side
effect of chemotherapy or radiotherapy, the bone marrow may stop functioning.
At such times, a stem cell transplant becomes necessary to regenerate the
bone marrow.

At birth, after the umbilical cord has been clamped
and cut, the remaining segment of the umbilical cord and placenta, including
whatever blood is within it, are discarded as medical waste. A simple,
painless and risk free procedure allows your delivery physician/midwife to
use our ‘Cord Blood Collection Kit’ to extract this ‘stem cell rich’ cord
blood from the blood vessels of the placenta and umbilical cord. The
procedures used to collect the cord blood do not pose any risks to the mother
or child and should in no way interfere with the standard practices of your
health care provider. Once collected, the cord blood is
transported to Stem Sciences Inc.’sdedicated cord blood cryo-archiving facility.At Stem
Sciences Inc., the nucleated cell component of the cord blood, that includes
the stem cells, is isolated, bar code labelled and uniquely identified under
the mother’s name, before being cryopreserved for long term storage.

The
cord blood stem cells are for the use of the child from whom they were collected
(autologous
use only).
Any other use is subject to regulatory authority approval.

All cord blood samples are
processed in a dedicated Cord Blood Processing Facility. Under ideal conditions, as much as 150 ml
of cord blood can be collected and processed. In general however, lower
volumes are often collected. There is no hard and fast rule to determine what
the minimum volume of cord blood that one can store should be. With the
possibility of propagating these cells in laboratory culture, we feel that
volumes lower than the generally accepted minimum of 40 mls may also yield
significant numbers of cells and should be stored. You will be informed of
the volume of blood that we receive from your child and should you not wish
to store it, we will dispose of the sample in an appropriate manner.

How long can cord blood be stored?

The nucleated cells present in the cord blood are concentrated and
cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen at temperatures of –196oC.The addition of the cryoprotectant
DMSO allows us to freeze these cells until such time as they are required.
Initial reports in the scientific literature indicate that stem cells can be successfully
stored for periods of up to 15 years without any significant loss of
activity. Experience gained from the cryopreservation of human cells in
general has shown that they can probably be stored for longer periods using
current technology. It is only with time that we will learn the true lifespan
of these cells.

Infectious
Disease Testing.

Maternal blood samples obtained at the time of delivery will be tested
for the following transmissible diseases: HIV (AIDS), HTLV, VDRL, CMV,
Syphilis, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and west Nile Virus. The Cord Blood will
be tested for bacterial, viral and fungal contamination. Evidence of any
significant infection/exposure will render the Cord Blood ineligible for
storage.

The future.

Since the first cord blood
transplant in 1988, tremendous progress has been made in better understanding
and utilizing umbilical cord blood stem cells. Encouraging progress is being
made in understanding the nature of stem cells and their applications in managing
diseases and conditions that are at present considered incurable. Already, experimental evidence has been accumulated showing improvements
in healing and recovery from conditions such as ‘strokes’. Molecular biological
manipulation of stem cells to insert or correct gene sequences will open up
new opportunities in treating conditions such as Sickle Cell Anaemia,
Haemophilia, Alzheimer’s, Diabetes, Parkinson’s, and other genetic and
infectious diseases. There is
also very exciting research going on in the area of cell expansion, that
would allow scientists to increase the numbers of stem cells/progenitor cells
in laboratory cell culture to levels that would improve the chances of
engraftment.

It’s your decision.

The decision to bank yourbaby’s stem cells is an important one and
can only be made by you, the parents. If you think you might look back and
regret not having saved your baby’s stem cells or feel that you want to take
advantage of emerging new therapeutic approaches utilising stem cells, or you
simply want peace of mind, then you should certainly consider banking your
baby’s umbilical cord blood stem cells.

Fee
Structure:

Stem Sciences Inc. is able to offer you a cost
effective opportunity to bank your baby’s umbilical cord blood stem cells.
See fee schedule for full details.

Transportation Charges:

Courier charges, if applicable, are to be paid for by
the parents. Once the cord blood has been collected, it must be transported to
Stem Sciences in a timely manner. For out of town collections, this may
require the use of a same day courier. Please call Air Logistics at
1-866-882-8865 or Disher Courier at 1-800-463-1035 to discuss your options.

Registration: You may
register at any time during your pregnancy. However, for your own peace of
mind, we recommend that you register early.